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How common is it for people to try to get out of repaying their student loans? I mean, I don't think I'll end up in that situation, because I have only a $5500 unsubsidized Stafford, but I've heard that the default rates are high and I wonder what your experience is with this. Also, Juneau, I'm sorry that you had the experience that you did; I got a letter informing me that my grace period was about to end and that I could call some number (Sallie Mae) to ask for a deferment/forbearance request form, and then I called it, and when I went off to grad school I filled it out, and after checking my credit report yesterday on an unrelated matter I found out that the deferment was approved. Oh yeah, I should mention that you should definitely check out http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ to check up on all of your credit-related matters (like auto loans, student loans, credit cards, and medical debts); you can get a free credit report from each of the three major consumer credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) once per year, and you can space them out however you like (e.g., all at once to compare them, or cycling through them 4 months at a time to keep closer tabs on your credit). It's also kinda nice, if you can afford the  , to buy something like your FICO score from one of the agencies (by the way, the inquiry itself is a very small negative factor toward your score), or one of those alert systems that tells you right away when something major gets added to your credit file.Also, don't try to get your free annual credit report from any other site, like that God-awful FreeCreditReport.com site that you hear about on television advertisements; the free annual credit report thing was brought to you by a recent Federal law, and http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ is the only site that the three agencies use to offer your free annual credit report. Finally, if you see something fishy, don't be afraid to dispute it: It's up to them to verify it, and disputing everything is actually a good tactic to use in a plan to emerge from bad credit, or so I've heard in another thread. Okay, that's enough derailing. I've also heard a couple of people claim that they'll try to take out student loans for obviously non-educational purposes; is this common? Is it legal? Would someone who tried to do that probably get called on it?
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Dec 30, 2006 21:07
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Artie Ar Ar posted:This is my third year and my first receiving a loan. Luckily, the loan is subsidized and only 5,500 for the year. I guess I am a lot more fortunate than others.
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Dec 31, 2006 04:46
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Wiggy Marie posted:Lewisje, I love your “avatar.” It makes me chuckle with glee. And seriously, thanks for helping!!! Anyway, I think that a discussion of how people try to weasel out of paying their student loans would make a good GBS thread, if it hasn't been done already; I've heard about people "paying them off" with a bunch of credit cards and then filing for bankruptcy, but it's both stupid and really hard to do now, and I don't really know any other  -inducing things that people have tried to do.
---------------- Syncopator fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Dec 31, 2006 |
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Dec 31, 2006 19:13
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Wiggy Marie posted:I've seriously considered it, Lewis, but I've hesitated due to privacy. I mean we jabber about it at work non-stop, and it's not like I'd give names, but still... 
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Dec 31, 2006 20:41
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Merou posted:For some reason I've gone 3 college years never having heard about this "aggregate limit" business. I tried searching my schools website for the limit but it doesn't seem to have an exact figure, it just says that there is one. If we consider that my FAFSA is in general always having an EFC of roughly 0 (it was 0 this year) and that grants pay my tuition and books, what is my aggregate limit likely to be?
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Dec 31, 2006 21:54
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blackjack posted:Where can I find out how much I owe to each loan office? You should also set up your account on http://nslds.ed.gov (National Student Loan Data System), but for your private loans you will need to go to your lender's website.
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Dec 31, 2006 22:58
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blackjack posted:Also, my private school loans don't appear on my credit report. They were done through the institution I attended, so is this typical?
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Dec 31, 2006 23:56
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[photon posted:] The remainder of your "standard budget" can be borrowed through the Graduate PLUS Loan program (subject to a credit check); all of those loans are unsubsidized, and unlike Stafford loans, there is no grace period after graduating or going below half-time: http://www.indiana.edu/~sfa/types/loans_plus_grad.html For all other expenses, you'll probably need to take out a private loan, and I don't know much about them:(
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Jan 1, 2007 22:31
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This thread should be goldmined when it's done.
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Mar 7, 2007 09:52
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me in reverse posted:I'm currently getting more in Federal aid (scholarships, grants, and loans combined) than my tuition (and 'cost of education' figure). That would completely disqualify me from any further federal loans, right? I'm interested in getting an approx $10k loan for the final three years of my schooling for living expenses, etc, but it seems that I can't get any more loan money from most places. Long answer: Get a job, and if you're also getting work-study, get an off-campus job too. Seriously, private education loans are dangerous and should only be handled when necessary, like when you don't get enough in Federal, state, and institutional aid to cover your cost of education. Oh yeah, in case you are asking about whether your total aid amount this year precludes you from Federal loan eligibility next year, basically there are annual limits and aggregate limits, and you probably won't be able to reach the undergrad aggregate limit for Stafford loans until your fourth year.
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Mar 8, 2007 00:08
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How much does it cost overall?
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Aug 6, 2007 23:15
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^For all I know, you might be eligible for a Pell grant with your income and EFC (you could even get a SEOG), but regardless, as an independent student you are eligible for twice the amount of Stafford loan money as when you were considered a dependent.The United States Department of Education posted:The lower the EFC, the greater the student’s financial need. Thus, the neediest students will have an EFC of 0 and may be eligible for the maximum Pell award of $4050 if their cost of attendance is high enough and if they will be attending full time for a full academic year. As for SEOG, the government gives block grants to schools, and they decide who gets the grants, giving priority to Pell Grant recipients; funds are very limited, however, and the figures quoted above are last year's figures and probably outdated now. Holbien posted:At what EFC do people stop being eligible for federal loans?
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Aug 11, 2007 12:04
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The Stafford loan caps are set by Federal law. As for GradPLUS: The U.S. Department of Education posted:Graduate and professional degree students are now eligible to borrow under the PLUS Loan Program up to their cost of attendance minus other estimated financial assistance in both the FFEL and Direct Loan Program. The terms and conditions applicable to Parent PLUS Loans also apply to Graduate/Professional PLUS loans. These requirements include a determination that the applicant does not have an adverse credit history, repayment beginning on the date of the last disbursement of the loan, and a fixed interest rate of 8.5 percent in the FFEL program and 7.9 percent in the Direct Loan program. Applicants for these loans are required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). They also must have applied for their annual loan maximum eligibility under the Federal Subsidized and Unsubsidized Stafford Loan Program before applying for a Graduate/Professional PLUS loan. If your living expenses exceed these loans (that is, exceed the "total cost of attendance"), you will need to seek out private lenders:( Also, if you're a really good law student with an established conservative track record (like in the law reviews and other publications), there are plenty of organizations waiting to give you lots of money (fellowships), like the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, so that you will join the forces of
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Aug 12, 2007 02:22
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Wiggy Marie posted:Where do you get this, specifically? It states that you must have applied for your maximum annual limit before going to the PLUS/GradPlus. It doesn't say anything about limiting you to the agg limit? In fact, it states that you must have maxed these out (per the school's eligibility standards - you have to have been told by the school that you cannot receive any more funding, regardless of whether you hit the actual aggregate limit) before even applying for a PLUS/GradPlus.
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Aug 13, 2007 18:08
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Stryfe posted:i have a question regarding grants/scholarships. I know normally you get them during HS/ for your freshmen year and all the following years, but will i be able to reapply for new grants/scholarships for my following years in undergrad? I'm guessing no, but in my situation i will be applying to pharmacy school after two years, will i be able to do so then?  ).Also, if you end up doing research as an undergrad, you might get a grant for that.
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Aug 15, 2007 02:04
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It's not unheard of for grad students to get food stamps
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Aug 17, 2007 05:16
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forrest posted:What are the residency requirements for that?
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Aug 17, 2007 05:25
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